What is the oldest car you own?
We truly hope everyone in the Hagerty Community enjoys participating in this series, According to You, in which we amplify the contributions of our loyal readers and commenters! Your responses to our various questions are often both enlightening and—dare I say it—heartwarming. Last week’s answers were no different, as we asked a very open-ended question that led to some fantastic answers. So, in the interest of balance, this week’s question will be far easier to answer: What is the oldest car you own?
Here’s mine. Well, not exactly, because the above image is a manufacturer press shot; I neither have a picture of my Continental Mark III, nor can I remember if it is a 1970 or a 1971. And I really should have a picture of it, considering what I do for a living and how enjoyable these cars are for Lincoln enthusiasts.
The Mark III has sat for months, mostly due to a bad front main seal on its 460 big-block, and I haven’t had the time to do it myself. I probably could, but it’s gonna require some training on my end, and I’d prefer if someone else did it. Finding someone has been harder than expected, or perhaps I am asking the wrong people. It is a very nice car, drives well, and even has a new Magnaflow exhaust with just a little rumble. Sigh.
The more words I type about my Mark III, the more depressed I get about its current state. Anyone want to teach me how to do a front main seal on a big-block Ford? Just kidding (sort of). Anyway, let’s answer the question at hand:
What is the oldest car you own?
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My dad had a 1922 Mack truck that he bought from a family friend. When he and my mom divorced years later, he drove from San Pedro to San Diego with all his belongings on the back. Top speed in 4th was close to 20 miles an hour. It had pneumatic tires on it and he had to stop and adjust the breaks every few hours.
My oldest ‘car’ is a 1968 El Camino SS396 that I bought from my dad, who had gotten it from a family friend who ordered it from the factory. I took my drivers test in that when I was 16 (back in the 70’s).
72 Corvette coupe. 454 LS5 with Turbo 400. Bought it in 73 when I came back from the western Pacific while I was in the Air Force. Daily driver for a long time. Ended up stored in the garage for a long time due to a lack of time because I ended up owning a small business. I turned down a lot of offers for it but recently decided it might be time to sell it since some health issues would keep me from restoring it as I had planned for a long time and the only two times someone else worked on the car I was highly disappointed. Then a fellow Corvette enthusiast made me aware of a restoration shop not far away that did excellent work. Now about 3-4 weeks away from completing a 18+ month frame off restoration, restomod actually, which will give me a “new 72”.
1955 Jaguar XK-140, made in late ‘54… 31 years older than me!
I own a 95 Lincoln Town Car, I’m the second owner was ordered, by a woman In Salem Oregon, she owned the car for 20 yrs. and let her kids trade it in on a truck, I’ve owned the car for eight years and now has just hit 108700 miles and is now 28 years old
I own and drive a 1940 Chevy Special Deluxe. This car has been in my family since it was purchased new by my moms aunt and uncle in 1940 it currently has 93,000 miles. I really enjoy driving it in the summer.
I have two 1933 Plymouths. One is a 2-door cp Street rod & the other a completely stock 2 door sedan. I also have an original 1967 M151A1 Army Jeep. All are insured with Hagerty ins Co.